Well, last night, I was tucking into a sin-free dessert. A fruits of the forest ice lolly with a ice cream centre. It had to be fake ice cream. The lolly was only 26 calories, 1g of fat and full of fresh fruit. I felt very virtuous eating this as a snack!

I slid the crinkly paper of the lolly as I walked from the kitchen and then I touched this sin-free delight to my lips, with great anticipation.

.....and that is when it happened. The most horrible sticky, burning sensation. I shrieked and ripped the lolly from my lips and indeed ripped is the right word to use.

Pain? Yes!

Mince lip? Yes!

I have seen cartoons, where some foolish creature is too curious by half and ends up with it's tongue stuck to something cold and icy, but hey, that's a cartoon right, it doesn't happen to us sensible, normal folk, does it? Well think again!

It was a steep learning curve, let me tell you! One that ruined my enjoyment of watching a soppy romantic movie with my husband, who had no sympathy at all and just rolled about the sofa laughing! Gee thanks Graham!

Whizz up all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Then transfer the mixture into an ice cream machine. Churn until it begins to firm up. How long it takes will depend on your machine, I know my ice cream is done, when the paddle starts to rotate the opposite way, although you can tell by the texture. So, when the ice cream is velvety, transfer it to a container and freeze until you are ready to serve it.

If you are churning by hand, pop into a container and freeze for about 90 minutes until it starts to freeze around the edges. Stir well, then repeat the process twice more until the mix is smooth and frozen.

This really is a cheat's ice cream, as the custard is already made. It just makes the process so quick from start to finish and when you have a eureka moment like I did, when I decided to eat some of that fudgey chocolate cake, hot with ice cream, then it is just what you want. It is a good store cupboard standby for last minute guests too!

I love this dish, but then I am a sucker for any mushroom dish. I just crave mushrooms.

In this simple dish the linguine is coated in a creamy garlic sauce, mushroom and spinach. Creamy sauces can be a bit rich, so I have cut through the cream with some vegetable stock that also adds to the flavour.

I used single cream but you can make this vegan by using a non-dairy cream. I like Alpro single soya cream. I buy the UHT version and keep some in my store cupboard so I can throw together quick sauces.

I have this recipe thanks to a really sweet girl and a lovely new friend - Anne from Anne's Kitchen. Anne made this fudgey chocolate cake back in December, but I only discovered it after spending a happy couple of hours browsing through Anne's archives. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to make it and it certainly didn't disappoint.

The UK Food Bloggers Association (UKFBA) was founded in 2007 by Julia Parsons, a British Food Blogger who writes the blog 'A Slice of Cherry Pie'. Julia set up the association to create a community for the growing number of food bloggers in the UK to network with, get to know, and help and support each other.

The association also enables food bloggers from around the world and people from outside of the food blogging world to connect with the British food bloggers. It's the first point of call to find out what's hot and happening from the people with their fingers on the pulse of the British food scene.

To begin with Julia set up a blog, where British bloggers could post and chat. She also set up a foodie forum, but the latest edition to the UKFBA is a social networking site that is a bit like a facebook for food bloggers.

The thought of a chilled berry soup for dessert is very appealing, especially now that berry season is just beginning here. I decided to use my favourite berries in this dessert soup. Bluberries and strawberries. The strawberries are still a little tart, so I added some honey to my soup.

This is such a delicious, yet guilt-free dessert, so you can serve it with a light heart and a thankful waistline.

Whizz up all the ingredients apart from the honey. Add this towards the end, tasting as you go. How much you need, will very much depend on how sweet your berries are, but it is nice to leave a little tartness to this soup.

Serve in bowls with a dollop of thick Greek yoghurt. Drizzle some honey over the yoghurt and sprinkle on a little extra cinnamon.

I am feeling very chuffed today! I had a lovely day out with Graham and my parents in Perth and then I got home and found out that Vanessa over at Mommy Gourmet has kindly presented me with a Preemio Blogger Award. Yay!

.... and now the catch! There has to be one doesn't there? Well as recipient of this award, I have to tell you 7 random things. You will just have to grin and bare it, if you want to know who I am passing the award on to!

1 I think I have fallen in love lust with the actor that plays Edward in the film Twilight. This is the picture I have as my screen saver just now. Shhh! Don't tell Graham!

2 I am eating greek yoghurt with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of berries for my breakfast, now that Spring it here. It is so, so good!

3 It really gets on my nerves when people gnaw their way through an apple. Just bite it already!

4 This year I have planted oregano, basil, apache chilli peppers, mint (boxed in, I know how it can get out of hand), rocket, rhubarb (probably too early, but it is a hardy beast I am told) and petunias.

5 Graham and I are having Pasta salad tonight. I made it yesterday and it is most yummy. Penne pasta, sun dried tomatoes and a little of the oil they are in, chunks of mozzarella, baby plum tomatoes, pesto, a splash of olive oil and black pepper. We are going to follow that with a few slices of juicy honeydew melon. My mouth is watering in anticipation!

I managed to half break the walking stick that Angie loaned me and by the time we had fixed it, everyone else was halfway up the hill. It nearly killed us trying to catch up with them, but the views were stunning once we got up there.

It is the story of Keelie, a Californian girl who loves shopping, manicures and hanging out at the mall with her friends, that is until her mom dies and she is shipped of to live with her dad, who lives a hippy life working in a medieval festival. There are people with pointy ears, a cat in boots, the trees are trying to talk to her and everyone wears geeky medieval clothes (Keelie's description not mine, I quite like medieval clothes)!

It was a really good read, in fact I read it in a day. I hope I can get my hands on the next book in the trilogy soon.

Done, over, phew!

So now it is time to pass this award and meme along to some other peeps, who truly deserve an award for their lovely blogs.

I needed some comfort food. I was feeling so, so tired yesterday. I turned to my old favourite - soup! I wanted a creamy, thick soup, so I decided to use lentils. I added lots of carrots for a lovely sweet flavour, then spiced it up with some turmeric and chilli and finished it off with a little coconut milk. As usual this recipe makes a large pot of soup. I never see the point in making a small amount, as soup tastes so much better the next day and it can always be shared around or popped in the fridge or freezer.

Saute the onion, garlic and ginger in the olive oil until softened, then add the carrots and potatoes before stirring in the turmeric and chilli powder. Cook gently for 10 minutes, add a splash of water, if the vegetables feel like they are clinging to the pot. Add the red lentils and the stock then simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree & coconut milk and stir until the puree has dissolved. Stir in the coriander, then whizz up half of the soup. It is always good to have some chunks of vegetable in your soup. Stir the blended soup back in and then season.